Leinart - ??????

[82CardsGrad]

I know Linda will be all over me, but she also knows this isn't the first time I've raised these concerns.
We won today - and given how it unfolded (we almost ALWAYS lose these games...), I think today was truly a HUGE win for us.
However, my concers with Matt have certainly not diminished and if anything, are growing... Not sure if it's because of new coaches? New system? Sophomore jynx? Or something worse... However, he has not looked good at all thus far this year. He looks confused. Unsure of himself. His feet look very slow. His throws look soft with no zip on the ball at all...
And a huge concern I first mentioned last season still seems to be present... That he generally throw a high ball, forcing his receivers to leap/reach or otherwise place themselves in very risky positions in order to make the catch. Today we almost saw Fitz get decapitated due to yet another high throw from Matt...

Don't want to drag this out on a day when we walked away with a W. But I sure do hope Matt steps it up - starting next week!!!!

 

[CardLogic]

Watching the game I also thought that Leinart didn't look crisp!

But then I see his stat line: 23/37 299 yards 1 TD 1 INT...

So I am thinking that if Leinart can have that good of a game while not appearing that sharp, just wait until he settles down and puts it all together.

Man, it's gonna be a beautiful thing!

 

[az1965]

If you take the int out, he had a pretty good game.

 

[The Commish]

2nd year QB running a new offense. Enough said.

 

[Redsz]

His feet look very slow.

OK, I can't say I'm seeing the same thing as you. When you say his feet 'look slow' what are you specifically talking about? His dropback? Footwork in the pocket?

 

[Lorenzo]

2nd year QB running a new offense. Enough said.

exactly. It also helps when you have an all-pro and an all-pro capable(fitz) in there. give him some time and he will get better. I think that QB draft class from last year will shine for many years. especially leinart, young, and cutler.

 

[PACardsFan]

I know Linda will be all over me, but she also knows this isn't the first time I've raised these concerns.
We won today - and given how it unfolded (we almost ALWAYS lose these games...), I think today was truly a HUGE win for us.
However, my concers with Matt have certainly not diminished and if anything, are growing... Not sure if it's because of new coaches? New system? Sophomore jynx? Or something worse... However, he has not looked good at all thus far this year. He looks confused. Unsure of himself. His feet look very slow. His throws look soft with no zip on the ball at all...
And a huge concern I first mentioned last season still seems to be present... That he generally throw a high ball, forcing his receivers to leap/reach or otherwise place themselves in very risky positions in order to make the catch. Today we almost saw Fitz get decapitated due to yet another high throw from Matt...

Don't want to drag this out on a day when we walked away with a W. But I sure do hope Matt steps it up - starting next week!!!!

Much has been said that Whisenhunt had Leinart work extensively with his footwork. Whiz felt that Leinart's footwork was sub-par for an NFL QB. Making changes with a QB's footwork is not an easy task. A QB's footwork in large measure has to become muscle memory, similar to a solid golf swing. If Leinart has to think about his footwork, it would definitely impede how quickly he gets through his progressions & that will lead to him being tentative. As his footwork improves, so will his confidence in the pocket. The high passes are a direct result of poor footwork. He was significantly better yesterday, but still needs to improve.
Another thing to consider is that Whiz runs a complicated offensive scheme. When he was with the Steelers, early on he did not allow Roethlisberger to lose the game for him. He kept the schemes simpler until he felt more comfortable with Big Ben. Unfortunately in yr. 2, Ben was injured so much that he was unable to run the offense the way Whiz wanted him to. That is why there was some bad blood between the two when Whiz left. Hell, Whiz had to simplify matters for Leinart also. Let's hope that Leinart continues to develop because he is definitely smart enough to handle a more complicated scheme. Roethlisberger is not an idiot, but he's definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed.

 

[jmt]

2nd year QB running a new offense. Enough said.

Ditto. Matt hasn't even started 16 games yet. Cutler, Young, Rivers haven't looked too sharp either at times.

 

[Codeofhammurabi]

I think you want to throw it high to Fitz the majority of the time. You can't use his speed as a strength, but you can sure use his size and jumping ability.

 

[abomb]

Matt is a second-year QB with a limited number of starts. He has happy feet, which is correctable. He is currently only reading half the field, which he will do until he can cycle through the progressions.

He'll need some time and any wins we collect along the way are gravy.

 

[Gambit]

Ditto. Matt hasn't even started 16 games yet. Cutler, Young, Rivers haven't looked too sharp either at times.

Rivers has looked downright awful so far this season.

 

[seesred]

A side from the INt IMO he made good reads and checkdowns, threw it away when needed and ran the offense very solidly. Most of his drops I persionally saw no happy feet, except when the defense broke through a very solid line. I believe he throws it high on purpose as the Hawks CB's are very short. As some of us have said he is in his 1st full year. 1 1/2 out of school. We are very lucky.

GBR
40

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Rivers has looked downright awful so far this season.

Tell me about it. My choices have been Rivers, or Alex Smith in one of my fantasy teams. I dropped Smith after the game, and picked up Eli that someone dropped. I have been averaging 3 points per from my QB. Horrible.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

A side from the INt IMO he made good reads and checkdowns, threw it away when needed and ran the offense very solidly. Most of his drops I persionally saw no happy feet, except when the defense broke through a very solid line. I believe he throws it high on purpose as the Hawks CB's are very short. As some of us have said he is in his 1st full year. 1 1/2 out of school. We are very lucky.

GBR
40

He did make some reads and checkdowns, but he threw about 4 balls in the dirt a couple yards in front of the receiver. Even the crowd started harping on Matt. He didn't have a good game at all.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

He won the game for us.

I will take a win anyday.

We have seen Leinart play better tho, and there should be some concern about his play. Our passing attack should be even more potent than it is right now. Which is nothing to complain about, BTW

 

[Gambit]

He didn't have the best game yesterday, but he was light-years better than on MNF. As long as he keeps showing improvement...

 

[40yearfan]

Tell me about it. My choices have been Rivers, or Alex Smith in one of my fantasy teams. I dropped Smith after the game, and picked up Eli that someone dropped. I have been averaging 3 points per from my QB. Horrible.

My fantasy QB is Brady and one of my WR's is Moss. Needless to say, the first two games have been blowouts. BTW, I also have Edge and Boldin.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

My fantasy QB is Brady and one of my WR's is Moss. Needless to say, the first two games have been blowouts. BTW, I also have Edge and Boldin.

I can't really complain though. I went RB heavy in both of my leagues. One of them has Alexander, Ronnie Brown and Edge. The other has Willie Parker, Rudi Johnson, Adrian Peterson, and Jamal Lewis.

 

[Chopper0080]

There are three things that I think that we can attribute to Leinart's play so far this season.

1-Leinart is learning his second offense in his second year. There is enough of an adjustment to the NFL for college QB's without having to start over in year two. During the game on Sunday, the anouncers were discussing how Whiz trimmed down the gameplan this week because Leinart said that he has overwhelmed against SF.

2-Teams have game film on Leinart and he is having to make adjustments. This is why their is generally a 2nd year slump by players.

3-Leinart's footwork is bad, specifically as it concerns moving in the pocket. When having to move in the pocket Leinart tends to let his feet get out from under him. What this means is that instead of keeping a strong base which gives the QB the balance to make a strong throw, Leinart is crossing his feet/scrambling and losing his balance. Watch Peyton Manning and Tom Brady when they have to move in the pocket. Instead of scrambling like Leinart is doing, they keep their feet underneath them and slide in the pocket. By keeping this base and staying balanced they can make strong throw when a receiver comes open. This is the reason Leinart's throws flutter out to the receivers and his accuracy goes out the window when he is moving in the pocket. One thing that will help Leinart is that as he gains more confidence in his o-line he will become more confident in the pocket.

 

[ajcardfan]

Leinart obviously didn't see Tatupu. And, like Whisenhunt said in the paper, he should throw it higher to Fitz. But, I have to give Tatupu credit too. That was a very nice play by a LB to read the throw, and peel off his coverage and snag it.

A lot of his throws are going low right now. Probably part of an effort to not OVERTHROW passes which was his problem last year.


As for "Muscle memory", I think that's right on. That's why I wanted to see a heavier practice schedule during camp.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Rivers has looked downright awful so far this season.

I was bashing SD left and right for taking him that high in the draft. Last tear he made me look foolish(not too hard to do) but this year he's looking more like the guy i thought he'd be. His lack of zip on the ball is going to be his downfall. Watch, he'll now go nuts next week .

 

[Russ Smith]

Leinart obviously didn't see Tatupu. And, like Whisenhunt said in the paper, he should throw it higher to Fitz. But, I have to give Tatupu credit too. That was a very nice play by a LB to read the throw, and peel off his coverage and snag it.

A lot of his throws are going low right now. Probably part of an effort to not OVERTHROW passes which was his problem last year.


As for "Muscle memory", I think that's right on. That's why I wanted to see a heavier practice schedule during camp.

The thing that struck me watching it on replay was just how far downfield Tatupu was. He should have seen him, but you don't expect to have a LB drop THAT far downfield.

Anybody notice the first 2 weeks how many picks or deflections by LB's and DL's dropping into coverage? Most of them are really close to the LOS the zone blitz stuff but it sure seems like it's happening more than usual this year?

 

[crisper57]

That INT really ticked me off. I watch Larry on his route that play, he was open almost the entire route (at least a 10 yard bubble). Matt held the ball too long and fired it at #11 once he started to approach the coverage on the other side of the field. If he throws it just 1 second earlier, Larry catches it with no one within 10 yards of his position.

Matt just needs to make slightly quicker decisions. I thought he looked sluggish at times, but I also think the improvement over last week was substantial.

I came away from UoP Stadium thinking we won in spite of Matt's performance. Then I saw his stats and realized he had a much better game than I had realized.

Keep growing Matt! It is amazing to watch you grow up more each week.

 

[D-Dogg]

And a huge concern I first mentioned last season still seems to be present... That he generally throw a high ball, forcing his receivers to leap/reach or otherwise place themselves in very risky positions in order to make the catch. Today we almost saw Fitz get decapitated due to yet another high throw from Matt...

He tends to throw high balls mostly to Fitz. Every once in a while to Q, but 90% of his throws to Fitz are jump balls. Now, that's either by design (Fitz not getting separation and can outjump anyone) or because Fitz jumps when not needed (on the play he got rocked, he didn't need to jump that high...not even close. He jumped up and caught the ball in his chest, instead of reaching up with this hands. But Matt throws high to Fitz, a lot.

I thought on rewatch Matt looked fine in the pocket and calm. However, when the pocket collapsed he was making some throws off really, really bad footwork (granted, sometimes with a guy on him) throwing off his back foot, throwing off a skip, etc. Most of those passes had no zip and were short.

I was glad to see him throw the ball away out of bounds though, instead of pressing and forcing something. I know a lot of people hate that, but it is just smart QB play. With the weapons we have, take another shot at it and don't force the issue when it isn't there (or that you don't see it).

Matt's checks and reads should improve, and he is still working on his footwork. But remember, for all his accolades and potential, he hasn't even played a full season's worth of games yet. He's still learning, and I think he's getting good coaching.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

That INT really ticked me off. I watch Larry on his route that play, he was open almost the entire route (at least a 10 yard bubble). Matt held the ball too long and fired it at #11 once he started to approach the coverage on the other side of the field. If he throws it just 1 second earlier, Larry catches it with no one within 10 yards of his position.

Matt just needs to make slightly quicker decisions. I thought he looked sluggish at times, but I also think the improvement over last week was substantial.

I came away from UoP Stadium thinking we won in spite of Matt's performance. Then I saw his stats and realized he had a much better game than I had realized.

Keep growing Matt! It is amazing to watch you grow up more each week.

I agree with you completely. Fitz had plenty of room. He threw the ball in a horrible spot as well.